Work & commute · Salina

Work & commute in Salina, KS

61% of Salina’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Smolan (4%), Wichita (3%) and Manhattan (2%). Half commute less than 3 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

61%

12,175 of 19,850 working residents

Typical commute

3 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

15 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 7,675 Salina residents head out of town to work, 12,175 work right here, and 11,180 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Salina.

7,675live here, work elsewhere

12,175live and work here

11,180work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Salina goes to work

Salina (in town)right here

61%12,175

Smolan5.8 mi away

4%708

Wichita79 mi away

3%676

Manhattan60 mi away

2%441

Topeka104.2 mi away

2%415

Smoky Hill2.7 mi away

1%272

McPherson28.7 mi away

1%252

McPherson30.7 mi away

1%231

Abilene22.1 mi away

1%193

Hutchinson54.1 mi away

1%156

Everywhere elseother towns and states

22%4,331

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Salina commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

69%

21%

69%Under 10 mi

4%10–24 mi

5%25–50 mi

21%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Salina is balanced between jobs and homes

1.18jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.18 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Salina are

23,355 jobs are based in Salina. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Salina’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Salina

23,355 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)64%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month52%

Jobs Salina residents hold

19,850 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)24%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)58%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month53%

−0%

Jobs based in Salina, 2013 → 2023: 23,451 → 23,355. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.